Here’s the news that caught our eyes this past week…
– A three-day outage of Blackberry phone service resulted in a big decrease in traffic crashes in the Middle East – 20% in Dubai and 40% in Abu Dhabi.
– In Seattle, a fatal hit-and-run back in July is being called just another “tragic accident”. KIRO-TV reports that the teenage driver involved in the collision will get a $42 fine for “unsafe lane change.”
– Concern from bicycling advocates has continued after California’s Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a safe passing law last week. Some are calling for Governor Brown to meet with people who ride bicycles in L.A. and better explain his reasoning for vetoing the bill.
– Across the pond, London Mayor Boris Johnson is being invited to ride a bicycle along a dangerous section of road in his city in hopes that he’ll better understand the needs of people on bicycles.
– Check out the great looking Fairdale city bike, as photog’d by Mr. John Prolly.
– Despite wanting to make it easier for local agencies to improve on-street facilities, the UK’s Department for Transportation is proposing an increase in the speedlimit on some roads to 80MPH. This comes along with their own findings that the increased speedlimit will result in more pollution and deaths.
– A little closer to home, the state of Maine is making a similar move to raise the speedlimit on one stretch of road to 75 MPH which makes it the state with the highest speedlimit east of the Mississippi River.
– A jury in Brooklyn awarded $19 million to a man who suffered brain damage after being hit by someone driving 55 mph on a neighborhood street. “City officials ignored the warnings from Gerritsen Beach residents,” reports the NY Post, “that Gerritsen Avenue needed to be revamped to slow down drivers who fly along the open stretch of road.”
– Here in Portland it’s not uncommon to see Police officers riding around on bicycles and soon you may see PPB officers riding around on one electric-assisted wheel.
– TriMet has released their multimodal trip planner to help people travel using a combination of public transit and their bicycle. In New York, Transportation Alternatives has released a similar tool but theirs is designed to help people on bikes and on foot avoid dangerous intersections.
– The city of New Orleans is taking the opportunity to improve safety and access for people on bicycles as it rebuilds roads damaged by Hurrican Katrina.
– Speaking of improving our streets, StreetsBlog San Francisco explains why building better bicycling infrastructure is in the best interest of those who want to drive their car.
– In Detroit a man was issued a $110 ticket and might face charges of child endangerment after riding in the road with his twin sons in a bike trailer. Police accuse him of impeding traffic but the man insists that he had no other option than to ride in the street. Many news outlets are pointing out how ridiculous the charges are, including the local Fox affiliate.
– The Oshkosh Community Bike Program is helping provide bicycles to get people to work. Workers find the refurbished bicycles to be a big help even in Wisconsin’s cold winters.
– Bicycling advocates in Turkey helped Todd Miller, who is on a ride to raise money and awareness to combat climate change, cross through auto-centric Taksim Square at the conclusion of Miller’s ride from Portugal to Turkey.
– Can smartphones be a tool in recovering stolen bicycles? The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia hopes phones’ QR code readers can help identify stolen bicycles, but one author is skeptical of the program, which costs $15 and relies on good samaritans to scan and check stolen bicycles.
– Want to stay connected to Twitter while you ride your bike? There’s an app (and a speaker amplifier) for that.
– If you’re more of a traditionalist when it comes to your bike ride entertainment, you might want to check out the bicycle that plays vinyl records.
– A man in Oklahoma has been reunited with his bicycle, 26 years after he sold it to pay for grad school.
– Scientists at Saarland University in Germany are using a bicycle to test out a wireless braking system that may eventually be used on planes, trains, and other motorized vehicles.
– If you’re a fan of steel-framed bicycles, you might want to check out Ron Arad’s new bicycle which features wheels built entirely from loops of tempered steel.
– Busted inner tubes are a byproduct of bicycle ownership but with a little ingenuity they can be repurposed into things like rugs and key lanyards.
– Another DIY project, for people who have bicycles and cats, makes panniers from empty cat litter buckets.
– Most of you now know to watch out for antelope when riding your bike, but you may want to keep an eye out for magpies too.
– Musical artist Cyclist has released an EP of nu-disco music that, appropriate for the group’s name, would be a great accompaniment to a bike ride when played from a pedal-powered stereo.
– And just this week, Wolfpack Hustle, the group of bicyclists who beat a JetBlue passenger plane in a race from Burbank to Long Beach, California back in July was recognized for their impressive win by Los Angeles City Council member Bill Rosendahl.
Did you find something interesting that should be in next week’s Monday Roundup? Drop us a line.